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Merikay and her son, Gil, at Death Valley National Park 2017

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Looking Forward

I just edited my "about me" blurb on the side of the blog. It had read "we hope to have the house ready for sale by fall of 2012." I am a realist. I changed it to read "summer of 2013." I hope I don't have to change it again next year, but if I do, I do.

As much as I enjoyed it, I know that the trip was just a vacation and not reality. I am eager to jump right in and get to work, but I have to take a deep breath and let Craig set the pace and priorities. He has already gotten a little painting done and made several calls to get pending jobs back on track.

Depression: Before we left, I was very close to going to the doctor and asking for some antidepressant drugs. The further we got from the house, the less I felt I needed them.

While on the trip, I finished reading a book called "Spontaneous Happiness" recommended by Laura. It emphasizes living in the "now" and not dwelling on the past or future. That was easy on vacation. If you are hiking you have to focus on the "now" or you will trip and break your neck.

It is not so easy at home.I have to learn patience.I have to learn to wait.

I will stay focused on the positive.I will not let the cloud of depression fall down around me again. I know I tend to dwell on the negative. I will stop doing that!

I can make plans. I have always been OK with making changes to them.

I have taken the first steps towards organizing our next trip. I have booked four night at a campground in Yosemite National Park for mid-September. This will be our first time in a non-electric site.

I have been looking at the reservation site, and yesterday noticed there were only eight sites left for the date range I wanted. This morning there was only one!Time to reserve or forget the trip.

Last night I did some research on the driving route to Yosemite. It seems that Hwy 140 has been widened a bit and is the "tour bus" route to the park. The size limitation for the campground I choose is 40', so between these two I assume we can get there safely.

I found a neat application on Google Earth that lets you go to street view and visually drive a road. I checked out parts of 140 and it doesn't look too bad. After our Hwy 1 experience I'm a bit "road shy."

I have also ordered the 2013 Rand Mcnally Motor Carriers' Road Atlas Deluxe Edition. Hopefully it will help keep us out of trouble!

Looks like the Alfa will be ready to come home tomorrow, so some stressful parking is coming up.

If I have to be anywhere other than in the Alfa for the month of August, I'm glad it is here.

16 comments:

You are looking forward to getting back on the road, and I am looking forward to settling down for a couple of months. By the end of September, I'll be getting the itch again to move on down the highway. :)

With volunteering, I get to enjoy both worlds. After almost three months, I'm tired of wandering around by myself.

Patience is one of those virtues that most of us really have to work really hard to acquire. I'm not good about it and poor Jim gets stuck with listening to me. But eventually it will all work out and get done. And being able to plan for more trips is so exciting. I love the planning stage and the anticipation of being on the road. You might also want the Mountain West Directory which gives you the grades and difficulties of different roads in the western states.

I understand your feelings of depression. I deal with it every summer when we are home. As soon as we hit the road I do not have to worry about it again until we get back home 6 months later. It's just the way it is for some of us who prefer to be on the road & active as opposed to just sitting in one spot for months at a time trying to busy ourselves with daily little routines.

I went through a period of depression in my life due to a work situation. It was an awful experience. I needed anti-depressants to get through it, but am glad to say I have fully recovered and am drug free.

I had a hard time waiting for our house to sell and finally begin the dream. But, everything worked out for the best. I hope your little mini trips can get your through until your full-time adventure can begin.

But, my advice is if you need a doctor's help for a while its not the end of the world. Depression can be a very debilitating experience. Take care of yourself!

Jeanne and Eldy have one of those motor carrier atlas's. I also decided to buy one when I heard they existed. I have a big fear of doing exactly what you did....going down a road not meant for a big motorhome.

We also bought a Garmin Dezl truckers GPS. Hopefully the two of them can keep us out of trouble!

BTW..I your header picture of the Alfa and the new toad is very nice! Al wondered if maybe the bracket on the toad was a little low. It might just be the picture, but I understand there is not supposed to be more than 2 inches between the height at the MH and the connection at the toad. The bracket should be almost level.

You are right, our tow bar slopes down too much. The reason that I've not gotten a drop-attachment for the hitch is that the road that we have to drive down from home has a fairly sudden "flex point" from downhill to level, such that if we drop the tow bar I'm afraid it will scrape on the road when we drive through that point.

I'll try posting a note to the Blue Ox company to ask them which is worse, having the down-angle or scraping the bottom of the tow bar on the road. Thanks for noting this!

Merikay... you sound very much like me! Let's hope that we can both overcome these feelings together!

I do have a suggestion for you...you need a new photo of yourself for your blog! I know you're lookin' much better now than how you do in the one that's been on there since I started reading your writings!!!

When you bring that baby home to park, don't over think it, just do it and it will work! AND, way to go girl on snagging that Yosemite site!!!

I don't normally have a problem with depression but I sure did recently and it hit me HARD. I can understand how debilitating it can be. I hope you are able to keep focused on what is in store for you in a year or so. Don't hesitate to get help if you need it. You have a good feel now for what lies ahead in your life on the road. It won't be long...

I can so relate to the unrealistic expectations..we have re-evaluted things too..and have decided it will happen when it happens..we will live as we can..and if the next phase is farther away down the road so be it!..enjoy your day!!

I found the book very helpful, but it did not allivate all depressive feelings - it takes practice, practice, practice. And following some of the other advice like omega 3s, and possibly herbal remedies. Patterns in thinking is a big thing though...

All of that is harder when you are not getting to where you are going! Maybe you need more short term goals - your short trips are a good thing for that. Is there any other planning that you can do? Or sorting/clearing out soome of your stuff? Putting together information of where you want to go? I find having these kinds of distractions helpful.

The "now" is a hard place to stay. I predict that as you practice, you will get better and better at it. Meanwhile, I hope you get whatever help you need and want. I take St. Johnswort daily. It doesn't make me feel any different than "me," but it shifts things just enough that I can stay positive.